breaking up dog fights

[mrose_s]

depends on the fight. most of the time with buster and sophie i can just yell and they stop. the other day they didn't thought so i just got in there and started stopping them. a stupid idea but neitrhre of them will bite me on purpose.

a couple of times the dogs that used to live next door picked on sophie till she went off. she really injured one girl that just would no lay off. and i just couldn't stop her. i ended up hoarse from screaming and in tears because she was hauling their dogs head through a steel bar fence and i couldnt stop her.
we ended up in a screaming match with the neighbours about it. their dog bit sophie all over till sophie got fed up and did damage. they never walked their dogs. they wern't trained, they got a little bit of attention. my sister told them to start walking their dogs, they sit in the yard all day and their mad. surprise surprise, next day they started walking their dogs and they all settled down.

i've read the best way to stop a dog fight is to grab ones back legs because they can't bite you. but i've tried this with buster for practice and he juust swings himself aroun to mouth my fingers. the other way i read is to hook something like a leash under theirback legs and pull them off that way.

that fight between buster and sophie is the only one i've ever really got stuck into. it just sort of involves grabbing anything i could, loose skin, collars, legs, pushing heads away. yelling and slapping. mum broke a washing basket over sophie like three times, cheap and flimsy we discovered. she's a machine when she gets going. lucky she's VERY tolerant.

once when sophie grabbed next doors dogs some guy flew up and belted her over the head with like a bat or a peice of metal or something that made me SO angry. none of us where home. thankgod the neighbours called us and told us what had happened and that she was stumbling around in the yard looking relaly injured. she spent a few days on a drip and really out of it. i would still break that mans legs if i knew who he was.

 

[RedyreRottweilers]

depends on the fight. most of the time with buster and sophie i can just yell and they stop. the other day they didn't thought so i just got in there and started stopping them. a stupid idea but neitrhre of them will bite me on purpose.

IMO, anything you can stop with a verbal correction is not a fight.

I define a fight as an altercation between dogs causing injury to one or the other. Anything else, in my definition, is not a fight.

And please do not ever think that your own dogs won't bite you, because if there is ever a REAL FIGHT, they most CERTAINLY will. Not with intent, but there are many MANY people who have been seriously injured by their own dog's redirected biting during the blood rage of a true fight.

I hope you, nor anyone else, ever has to deal with a genuine FIGHT between your dogs. I have, I was very lucky, and I learned first hand how terribly awful it CAN be. With a massively powerful breed such as mine, a fight can be a deadly occurence. I know without a doubt that if my younger 2 bitches EVER jumped the old girl, they would kill her in minutes.

So they are carefully supervised whenever they are out together, and they are NEVER left out in threes. More than 2 dogs, (and sometimes even 2) is a pack, and they can and will engage in pack behavior and mentality. This means if there is ever a real altercation, almost all the time the other dogs will join in and finish it.

The great thing is most of the time when dogs growl and posture, it's not REALLY a fight. If it ever IS really a fight, it's important to know what to do and what NOT to do in order to avoid injury to yourself, and to minimize injury to the dogs. In many communities, you are required to report ALL dog bite injuries, and there can be consequences for a dog that bites, even if it's your OWN dog biting YOU.

 

[mrose_s]

yeah. i got a graze on my arm from sophie but that was all.
buster got a deep gash just under his eye but its healing up well. sophie got nothing.
i know i have the chance of being bitten, its just sophie is 3 times bigger than buster and i don't want her doing any real damage to him.
every other time buster has gone to blue her she just kinda puts her head up and backs up and takes it. that was the first time she actually went back at him. i guess she was finally sick of him picking on her.
thast why she's the boss.

 

[StillandSilent]

I've only had to break up one fight at work, and that was between a sheparda and a much smaller dog. The smaller dog's leash snapped and she ran up to play with the shepard and it grabbed her. The person with the shepard yanked him up by his least and I grabbed the little dog by her scruff so she couldn't bite. He had her by her hind leg and I pretty much had to kick him off of her. Luckily she was more frightened then hurt.

 

[casablanca1]

It's funny how we define any violent interaction between dogs as a 'fight.'
Many of the incidents described above sound more like attacks than fights. If one dog is just trying to escape or stay alive, it's not a fight. I have no idea what to do in a fight - I've never had that experience, thank God. I've had way too much experience with attacks, however. Most dogs will break off the stalk/attack/charge if you spot them early and challenge them. Most attackers chose smaller dogs as victims, and don't really want to deal with a human. When the dog persists, use violence in rapid escalation until the dog breaks it off. I start off with a bellow at the dog and a shout for the owner to come get it, go to a waved stick, then to a tap with the stick, and if the dog won't leave the dog gets hit in the face with the stick. Luckily, it hasn't happened often. Mostly because I spend half my life scanning the horizon for offleash dogs, and going the other way. The hassle and adrenaline rush just ruin a walk.

 

[Miakoda]

It depends on the dogs involved & the actual situation.

As Baha stated, APBTs are easily separated with a break stick/parting stick. The reason I don't advise these tools with other breeds isn't because only 'pit bulls' jaws "lock" (which they don't), but because other breeds tend to bite & release more often in that case your hand will get chewed on.

Of course it's always better to have 2 peopel to be able to break up a fight, but realistically it rarely ever works that way. I've been home alone for all but 1 fight that we've had.

Here's an example of one of our fights:
I was scooping the yard with 2 dogs loose. These 2 dogs had always gotten along although I've always kept a close eye on them as one is an extremely defensive dog. For some unbeknown reason to me, they got into it while I was tossing poop over the back fence into our compost pile on the other side. Mind you my back yard is almost 3/4 of an acre & more deep than wide. So here I was, all alone in the middle of the afternoon, with 2 dogs intent on killing each other. For the record, it was an APBT & a Shar Pei/Cane Corso mix & the Shar Pei started it (not that it matters). The most important thing is to STAY CALM! Yelling at the dogs only escalates the situation & increases their intensity. Water hoses don't work unless you're breaking up 4 lb Chihuahuas with an intense blast. And remember, no dog is going to get killed in the few minutes it takes to assess the situation. In this situation, I grabbed one dog, alternating between the collar & the back legs depending on where the other dog was biting, & drug that dog to the nearest chain set up. I was then able to get that dog hooked up on the chain. I grabbed the other dog & did the same thing until I had backed it up out of reach of the chain setup. I then used a break stick to release the dogs grip & managed to get them apart. Both dogs were fine save for some punctures.

The main thing you always want to do is stay calm. Freaking out & screaming like a banshee isn't going to do anything but make things worse & possibly get you bit when you do something assinine & out of the blue.

Two, NEVER stick your hands in the middle of 2 dogs fighting! If you do, you are going to get bit & it will be solely your fault. And never use your hands to pry a dogs mouth open. You will lose a finger doing so when that dog resists your move & instead clamps down on the other dog and you fingers.

Three, grab a leash & get it attached to one of the dogs & then drag them back to where you can attach it to something heavy thus limiting that dog's movement. If you have dogs of somewhat equal size, they aren't going to kill each other in 5 minutes or less.

I hate the mace idea because I've seen it used in dogfight situations & I've never seen it work. Instead, it pissed off the dogs who I can only assume thought the other one did it & inflicted more pain upon it thus making it fight harder, & the owner also got sprayed in the face (mace just doesn't go directly into one dog's/person's eyes....it also creates a surround mist cloud) & was screwed from that point on.

For people that want to use the hose, the way to use it would be to a) shove the hose into one dog's mouth thus trying to drown it in a sense or b) shoving it up one dog's nose. Both methods will result in serious problems if the dog aspirates water into the lungs thus allowing pneumonia to follow. Just spraying water at 2 fighting dogs is like pouring an 8 oz. cup of water to put out the fire destroying your house. It's a waste of time.

 

[gdsgregory]

IMO, anything you can stop with a verbal correction is not a fight.

I define a fight as an altercation between dogs causing injury to one or the other. Anything else, in my definition, is not a fight.

And please do not ever think that your own dogs won't bite you, because if there is ever a REAL FIGHT, they most CERTAINLY will. Not with intent, but there are many MANY people who have been seriously injured by their own dog's redirected biting during the blood rage of a true fight.

I hope you, nor anyone else, ever has to deal with a genuine FIGHT between your dogs. I have, I was very lucky, and I learned first hand how terribly awful it CAN be. With a massively powerful breed such as mine, a fight can be a deadly occurence. I know without a doubt that if my younger 2 bitches EVER jumped the old girl, they would kill her in minutes.

So they are carefully supervised whenever they are out together, and they are NEVER left out in threes. More than 2 dogs, (and sometimes even 2) is a pack, and they can and will engage in pack behavior and mentality. This means if there is ever a real altercation, almost all the time the other dogs will join in and finish it.

The great thing is most of the time when dogs growl and posture, it's not REALLY a fight. If it ever IS really a fight, it's important to know what to do and what NOT to do in order to avoid injury to yourself, and to minimize injury to the dogs. In many communities, you are required to report ALL dog bite injuries, and there can be consequences for a dog that bites, even if it's your OWN dog biting YOU.

Excellant advice and I urge everyone to read it carefully and take heed.
There is nothing more horrific than seeing dogs in the heat of a vicious fight and you WILL get bitten if you intervene by grabbing collars etc and when you do get bitten it will be nasty.
Two people are needed in my experience making a clear approach and taking each dog by its back legs while rotating the animals side ways and apart.
If one tries to attack you after releasing its grip on the other animal you should try to swing the dog in the air using gravity to keep its head away from you. But, try doing that with a 150 pound fila etc.
Scary business either way and whether or not it is politically correct on this board to say it I will, if you are not strong or confident enough to break up a fight - Dont. Get help or let them scrap it out as few dogs will kill another dog after submission. You or your animal - take your pick.

 

[Rosefern]

I've noticed that a lot of people (not on Chaz, just in life) seem to think that water will instantly break up a dog fight. Umm...no...you can, however, break up a CAT fight with water. I broke up two cats fighting in my kitchen once by turning the hose (like in the sink) on them. Apart instantly, cleaning themselves - the fight forgotten.

I've been involved in only two REAL fights. A real fight I define as two dogs, going at each other, unable to be pulled apart by voice commands.

Most fights rarely escalate past growling, snapping, and maybe a couple nips. They look worse then they actually are.

And I agree, if you can seperate them by yelling, it's NOT a fight.

-Rosefern

 

[showdawgz]

Fights are a terrible thing. Two of my males got into it a few day ago. Around this time my dogs are all seperated because Sage (my 3 year old female) is in heat and I have 3 intact males so it becomes a madhouse, lol. Mace my 6 year old and Keelo my 3 year old are NEVER together because Keelo is full of himself and wants to take over and Mace is not going to let that happen. So the other day I am letting them out and I put keelo in his kennel and went to let Mace out. So Mace is running around by himself outside so I go into the kitchen for ONE second the next thing I know I hear a shatter (Keelo destroying his cage) and busted out of the screen door (leaving glass everywhere). I ran out and knew it was going to get bad by the way Keelo charged him. ALL his hair was standing up and did everything in his power to make himself look bigger than he is (Mace is about 100# and Keelo is only 70#) and full on attacked him. Mace is great with dogs so long as they are nuetral but challenging him will definately make him retaliate.

So I'm at home by myself and Keelo is charging Mace. Once Keelo hit Mace I realized what was happening and ran in to grab a stick and a leash. I tried just about everything to get them apart. I tried to grab Keelo's legs (because I have more control over Mace plus Keelo had a firm grip and would not have let go if I did try to pull Mace back) but had a hard time because Keelo had gripped onto Mace's neck and Mace was throwing him back and forth like a ragdoll but Keelo never let go. That resulted in him turning around to bite me. And before I could grab him he was already reattached to Mace's neck. Then I got a stick to try to pry Keelo's mouth open, still didnt work. I then took the stick and slid it through Keelo's collar and twisted it and pulled him back and I realized all I was doing was dragging keelo with Mace still attached to him. So I found another stick and while I was twisting his collar (practically taking his breath away) I managed to pry his mouth open and as soon as I pulled him off I told Mace to go to his kennel while I was still twisting Keelo's collar. It was a terrible fight a total blood bath.